How it Felt to be in the Fields

by Tasha Cotter

For a long time, the silence

wasn’t mine. My thoughts hit against

the curved horizon. The county

line held me, as if in a sphere

of green fields and heavy clouds.

You could hear the pensive sounds

occasionally breaking through

the coarse throats of animals

who also belonged to others.

Captive and cared for, it wasn’t

the only thing we wanted.